Roger Chammas, Ph.D.

People

Melanoma incidence is increasing worldwide. While in early stages, melanomas are potentially curable, in advanced stages, adequate management is still a challenge. In high income countries, the standard care for advanced stage melanoma is enrollment in novel clinical protocols. In middle income countries, such as Brazil, treatment options are suboptimal and still rely on chemotherapeutic agents. Development of chemoresistance in melanomas is one of the reasons for the poor results of commonly used chemotherapeutic regimens. In the past years, I have been studying the mechanisms of malignant transformation of melanocytes into melanomas and have evaluated different aspects of the development of chemoresistance and distribution of drugs within the melanoma microenvironment that may interfere at least in part with the responses to treatment. This approach serves as a platform for identification of plausible targets for combination therapy at the preclinical and clinical level. My long term objective is to define the timing for combination therapeutic strategies that increase the effectiveness of low-cost chemotherapeutic regimens that may be widely applied in low/middle income populations.

2009 - Editor for Plos One, Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research and Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências

2015 - Organizer of the International School on Immunological Biotherapies, Concepts and Development (University Pierre & Marie Curie, France; Mount Sinai Hospital, USA and University of São Paulo, Brazil) www.is-ibcd.upmc.fr

Nantel F, Chammas R, Sirois P, Battistini BJ. Use of an acylated nonapeptide for treatment of cancer and metastases, and treatment or prevention of chemotherapy-induced neuropathy. US2007015715-A1, US7932228-B2.